Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Reports to: Head of Programmes in Ethiopia and a Research Manager in London
Contract duration: 31st October 2016 (with possible extension)
Contract terms and conditions: This is a local post, only eligible for Ethiopian nationals or those legally able to work in Ethiopia.
Application instructions:
Candidates should send their CV and an engaging covering letter (PDF or Microsoft Word format) which outlines their experience and suitability for the role in English to ethiopia@bbcmediaaction.org . The name of the position applied for should be included in the subject line of the email.
Candidates will be long listed based largely on the quality of their covering letter.
NB: Candidates should have Ethiopian nationality or have a valid Ethiopian work permit. Please note that these are not international postings.
Application deadline: Monday 8 December 2014
Job purpose:
BBC Media Action is looking for a Senior Research Officer specialising in qualitative techniques to work across its health, resilience and agriculture projects in Ethiopia. Research is a core activity in the BBC Media Action that is used both to inform the production team and evaluate interventions. The Senior Research Officer (Qualitative) is accountable for undertaking all aspects of qualitative research activities of the projects by BBC Media Action Ethiopia.
Main duties:
- Leading the design, implementation and analysis of BBC Media Action’s qualitative research activities, working closely with other members of the Research and Learning team in Addis Ababa and London.
- Developing and refining research instruments, such as in-depth interview guides, focus group discussion guides, community assessment guides, observation guides and checklists, and managing the piloting and implementation of these instruments.
- Organising qualitative research activities including selection of locations, recruitment of local guides and sampling of research participants.
- Forecasting and monitoring expenditure of qualitative research activities; taking responsibility for completion of all required administration and obtaining permissions
- Responsible for qualitative research being delivered on time and within budgets.
- Conducting and overseeing the collection of qualitative data using, for example, in-depth interviews, focus groups, community assessments and observation.
- Recruiting, training, and monitoring freelance research staff in conducting qualitative research and in the production of transcripts and summaries of qualitative data.
- Processing and analysing qualitative data, setting up frameworks and systems to manage qualitative data.
- Responsible for assuring the quality of qualitative data (during data collection, translation, management, analysis and reporting) and ensuring that ethical standards are upheld and research is conducted to a high standard
- Managing pre-testing of media content among target audiences and reporting results to production teams.
- Working closely with researchers and the programmes and production teams to ensure that research meets the project needs and effectively communicate research so that research continually informs our work.
- Reporting findings in accordance with project and donor requirements – this may include written reports, written summaries and PowerPoint presentations.
- Keeping up to date with policy and social issues, as well as innovations in qualitative research methods including the use of qualitative methods for evaluation, and actively introducing innovative methods for both data collection and analysis.
- Working on a wide range of research projects and employing a range of different research methodologies as required
Required skills, knowledge and experience:
- University degree in Social Studies, international development or any other related field
- Experience in development and research work, with demonstrable experience in the design and implementation of qualitative research methods, including focus groups, in-depth interviews and other techniques, e.g., community assessments and projective techniques
- Strong skills in managing and analysing qualitative data, e.g., using framework methods, thematic analysis or other advanced analytical methods.
- Experience of assuring the quality of qualitative research activities at all stages (from design to implementation, during translation, analysis and reporting)
- Experience training other researchers in implementation of qualitative methods for data collection, management and analysis
- Experience of planning, budgeting and organising qualitative research.
- Ideally, experience of designing and reporting qualitative research for evaluation purposes.
- Ideally, experience of using software packages such as Atlas.ti and Invivo.
- Administrative, problem-solving and decision-making abilities
- Excellent communications skills
- Ability to work with minimal supervision
- High degree of personal organisation
- Good attention to detail
- Ability to work under pressure
- Strong commitment to, and understanding of, development issues in Ethiopia.
- Fluency in oral and written English and Amharic. Fluency in Oromiffa or other Ethiopian languages highly desirable.
Key competencies:
The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies.
- Editorial judgement - demonstrates balanced and objective judgement based on a thorough understanding of BBC editorial guidelines, target audience, programme and department objectives. Makes the right editorial decisions, taking account of conflicting views where necessary.
- Creative thinking - able to transform creative ideas into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
- Planning and organisation - able to think ahead in order to establish and efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources.
- Communication - able to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.
- Influencing and persuading - able to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
- Managing relationships and team working - able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team, as opposed to working separately or competitively.
- Developing others - able to recognise potential (managerial, professional, artistic or otherwise) and is willing to foster the development of that potential. Creates a climate in which potential can be realised.
- Resilience - manages personal effectiveness by managing emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations. Demonstrates an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
- Flexibility - adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation change, and to change or easily accept changes in one’s own organisation or job requirements.
